HISTORY Highlights June 2020

RACE TO VICTORY

Thursdays from 11 June at 19.40

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and Liberation of the Netherlands, this documentary series recalls one of the most thrilling races in military history. It was not only the race to win a war, but a race to gain territory, power and ideological strongholds. In 1917, Winston Churchill called Communism a ‘culture of typhoid’ smuggled into Russia. In 1918, Roosevelt remarked that Churchill was a ‘stinker’. In 1924, Stalin became leader of the Soviet Union, which he proceeded to purge of any so-called enemies of the state. By 1941, these three ideological power-houses were supporting each other in the war against Nazi Germany and its fascist dictator, Adolf Hitler. It was an uneasy alliance and one fraught with power struggles, false promises and suspicions. This series follows a chronological timeline of how and why these unusual alliances were formed in the years leading into WWII and paints an in-depth picture of the race to power and victory. Each episode begins with a decisive moment in the war, then backtracks to ask: who was scheming? Who was backstabbing? Who was making concessions? The penultimate episode of the series deals with the climactic events of D-Day, and the Allies’ race through Northern Europe in their bid to finish the war by Christmas, 1944, which prompted the ill-fated Operation Market Garden, the Battle of The Bulge and the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, to try and break the Siegfried Line and liberate the Netherlands and Belgium from the yoke of Nazism. Expert interviews with historians, military and political figures give the series a contemporary relevance. (6x60”)

CURSE OF SKINWALKER RANCH

Tuesdays from 2 June at 21.25

For the first time ever, HISTORY is gaining full, unprecedented access to one of the most infamous and secretive hotspots of paranormal and UFO-related activities on earth, Skinwalker Ranch.

Anchored by never-before-seen footage of the ranch and what it contains, the series will feature a team of scientists and experts who will conduct a daring and thorough search of this infamous 512-acre property located in Utah’s Uinta Basin in an attempt to find out the “who?” “what?” and “why?” behind more than 200 years of UFO SIGHTINGS, bizarre animal mutilations and paranormal related mysteries. Utilizing the latest in cutting edge technology from lasers and ground-penetrating radar to drone thermography, and more, the team will apply hard science and make shocking discoveries while going further and risking more than anyone has done on the ranch before.

Beginning in the 1950s, Skinwalker Ranch and the area around it has been referred to as “UFO alley,” where numerous anomalous events and strange activity have received worldwide media attention. Since then, the area has been the site of decades of study, some clandestinely funded by the government. In 1996, the property was purchased by billionaire businessman and UFO enthusiast, Robert Bigelow, who used it to conduct his own experiments into the study of the ranch and its other-worldly connections. His findings were never shared with the public. Three years ago, the property was sold to a new owner who is now leading this team in a new investigation and, for the first time in history, allowing television cameras to document their shocking discoveries. (8x60”)

EATING HISTORY

Fridays from 19 June at 21.25

Vintage food expert Old Smokey and collector Josh Macuga are two friends on a quest to uncover, unbox and eat the old and unique foods that have survived history; they explore history through old food and discover why some foods have stood the test of time. They take viewers back in time to find foods believed to have been lost to the past, and with every bite they discover which eats have conquered time, revealing forgotten eras and the stories they hold as they explore history through old food. What foods have survived history? (10x30”)